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Atlanta police surround Wells Fargo bank where man claims to have bomb At least two people safely escape Atlanta bank where man claimed to have bomb
(35 minutes later)
Several heavily armed police officers converged on a bank in suburban Atlanta on Friday, after reports that a man claiming to have a bomb may have had hostages inside. Police said at least two people who were inside an Atlanta-area bank with a man they claimed to have a bomb made it out of the building safely, after a military-type vehicle smashed through a back wall of the building.
Police evacuated customers from fast-food restaurants and other businesses around the Wells Fargo bank near Interstate 75 north-west of the city. Many officers wore tactical gear and carried “long guns”, or rifles. The Cobb County police sergeant Dana Pierce said early on Friday afternoon that the people were not injured, and police were trying to determine how to resolve the situation with the man inside.
WSB-TV reported that its newsroom received a call on Friday morning from the man who said he was inside and talked for more than 30 minutes. Cobb County police chief Mike Register told the news station officers were in contact with the man. Moments earlier, the large military-type vehicle was used to smash its way through a back wall of the Wells Fargo branch, raining bricks on to its hood. Pierce declined to say how exactly the people in the bank were able to get out, but his report that they were safe came shortly after the maneuver with the vehicle.
According to WSB-TV, the man told an assignment editor that he had a bomb and two people inside with him. The station reported that the man said he did not want to hurt anyone and that if he did detonate the bomb, he would let the two people go. Police did not release details about threats the man made. Atlanta television station WSB-TV reported earlier that a man called and told an assignment editor he was inside the bank and had a bomb and two people with him. The man said the bomb had the power to “take out the room”.
In the station’s video account of the conversation, the man could be heard saying that the bomb had the power to “take out the room”. The station reported that the man said he did not want to hurt anyone and that if he decided to detonate the bomb, he would let the two people go.
Cobb County police officer Alicia Chilton said in a statement the man had made some threats and was still inside the bank with an unknown number of employees. Several heavily armed police officers then converged on the bank. Police evacuated customers from fast-food restaurants and other businesses. Many officers wore tactical gear and carried “long guns”, or rifles.
No one inside the bank had been harmed, Chilton said, adding that police were limiting the amount of information shared because the suspect might be monitoring news coverage and social media. The Cobb County police officer Alicia Chilton said in an earlier statement no one inside the bank had been harmed, adding that police were limiting information shared because the suspect might be monitoring news coverage and social media.
The Cobb County department of transportation said in a brief statement that a stretch of a heavily traveled road in the area was closed due to police activity. The agency was advising motorists to avoid the area.The Cobb County department of transportation said in a brief statement that a stretch of a heavily traveled road in the area was closed due to police activity. The agency was advising motorists to avoid the area.
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